Henri Saint Cyr, (born March 15, 1902, Stockholm, Sweden—died July 27, 1979) Swedish equestrian in dressage who was one of only two people to win two Olympic gold medals in both the individual and team competitions (1952 and 1956). He is recognized as one of Sweden’s greatest riding champions.

Henri St. Cyr (centre), winner of the gold medal in the individual dressage event, riding around …

UPI/Corbis-Bettmann

St. Cyr began his Swedish military career in 1924, rising through the officer ranks and eventually reaching the rank of major. He entered the reserves in 1957. Early in his competitive riding career he entered jumping events, but an injury caused him to turn his efforts to dressage. He captured a gold medal as part of the Swedish dressage team at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Fin. In the individual dressage, St. Cyr faced stiff competition from Lis Hartel of Denmark. Hartel, who had been stricken with polio in 1944, competed despite being paralyzed below the knees; St. Cyr defeated Hartel by just 20 points in an exciting and strenuous contest. He later helped her onto the victory platform in one of the Olympics’ most moving and gracious moments. He won the 1953 world championship in Wiesbaden, W.Ger. In Stockholm at the 1956 Olympic competition, his nearly flawless ride, in slippery, rainy conditions, allowed the Swedish team to win a rare second consecutive gold medal in dressage. He also repeated his gold medal performance in the individual dressage, again narrowly defeating Hartel.

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...the debut of the Soviet gymnast Viktor Chukarin, who won the first of his two individual gold medals in the combined exercises. American diver Pat McCormick won two gold medals. Swedish equestrian Henri St. Cyr won a gold medal in both the individual and team dressage competitions. See also Sidebar: Lis Hartel: Beating Polio.

...the debut of the Soviet gymnast Viktor Chukarin, who won the first of his two individual gold medals in the combined exercises. American diver Pat McCormick won two gold medals. Swedish equestrian Henri St. Cyr won a gold medal in both the individual and team dressage competitions. See also Sidebar: Lis Hartel: Beating Polio.

Hartel remained paralyzed below the knees and still needed help in mounting and dismounting her horse. At Helsinki, only Sweden’s Henri Saint Cyr thwarted her remarkable bid for gold; he was to do exactly the same at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The Helsinki battle was an exciting and strenuous contest, with Hartel losing by a narrow margin of 20 points. Later Saint Cyr graciously...